Mountain-metropolis cooperation: the case of Grenoble

The recent regulatory and legislative context of mountains and metropolises, and contemporary decentralization frameworks (MAPTAM law 2014, Montagne law 1985 and 2016, NOTRe law 2015) provide the starting point for this research and the basis for analyzing developments in territorial cooperation. Territorial cooperation would be a balancing factor needed to “recompose” territories, in the sense of “organizing” them.

The description and analysis of mountain practices by metropolitan residents, and metropolitan practices by mountain dwellers, as well as the institutional analysis of these practices, sheds light on the processes and mechanisms involved in implementing current territorial cooperations, with regard to existing and planned territorial public policies. The thesis is based mainly on the observation of these practices and the initiatives of mountain and metropolitan collectives, and on surveys.

The qualitative survey is based on observation and open interviews, combined with other documents such as reports, minutes, seminar proceedings, etc. The results are presented using conceptual and thematic maps to show the nature of metropolis-mountain relations.

This thesis is also part of the second phase of the Telimep project, alongside the first phase led by Stéphane Gal.